Hindu Rohingyas living in Bangladesh relief camps have become a soft target for those looking to enforce religious conversions on those vulnerable and alone, fighting for survival in Cox's Bazar.

Both Hindu and Muslim Rohingya have taken shelter after fleeing from Myanmar, but with far more Muslims than Hindus seeking refuge, the women from the community - who have already lost their homes and loved ones - are now faced with the real danger of losing their identity, dignity, and way of life.

Hindu Rohingya women are reporting that they are being forced to remove sindoor (a traditional vermilion red powder worn by married women along the parting of their hair) break their bangles, and marry Muslim men, converting religion in the process.

Many of women are allegedly forced to give up their Hindu traditions and read namaz (pray) five times a day.

Puja Mullick is among those targeted and she speaks of the trauma she has gone through for almost three weeks. Puja calls herself Rabia now: the change happened this month.

Rabia is a Hindu Rohingya who left Myanmar in hope of a refuge. But circumstances turned her life upside down.

Puja, now Rabia, lost her husband to violence in the last week of August in Myanmar.

She says he was not killed by the army, but by men clad in black with their faces hidden, who were acting in the name of their religion.

Rabia is not alone. Theoman says her husband and entire family were shot in front of her but she was left alive to live as a captive.

'They took us to the forest and said I would have to read namaz or they would release me... My sindoor was removed and my religious shakha pola bangles broken.

'I was told I would be allowed to live only if I changed my religion. I was made to wear burqa and stay with them to learn their traditions for almost three weeks.

'I was made to read namaz... I had to say Allah, but my heart was beating for Bhagwan... My family started searching for me and came to know that I was living in a Muslim camp.'
The red saree is the only one she has now and her three-year-old son has no clothes at all.
Mail Today's team met many more such women in the Hindu Rohingya camp in Kotupalong area of Cox's Bazar district of Bangladesh.

If Puja became Rabia, Rica was being turned into Sadia. Twenty-eight-year-old Rica Dhar adjusted her orange saree to feed her year-old son as she narrated a similar tragic tale.
'On Friday (August 25) they entered all the Hindu residences and attacked. First the mobile phones were taken away and then men were tied and beaten brutally. My husband worked as a goldsmith.

'They took away all my jewellery and began beating me. All Hindus were identified and taken to a nearby hill. They were then killed in a row. Only eight women were allowed to stay among them… mostly young and beautiful.

'They were told ''You will have to turn Muslim and marry us''... We had no option but to surrender and go with them... We were taken to the forest and left without food to weaken us mentally also… Then we were brought to a camp in Bangladesh... Once my Hindu relatives heard about it...they brought me to this place...''

After they could not be traced anywhere in Myanamar or Bangladesh, they were identified at the Kotupalong Rohingya camp where they were kept under close watch by those who were allegedly executing this forcible conversion.

When asked, government officials were clueless about what was going on. 'We do not have any such information,' said Md. Ali Hossain, deputy commissioner of Cox's Bazar.

'If it has occurred, we will take necessary action.'

Men hailing from the same Rakhine state went out in search of these women and allegedly faced torture themselves. Vijay Ram Pal says he was assaulted during his quest.

'We are victims of Burma army and now we are being tortured here also. Eight women who were here from Myanmar....they were forcibly taken to another camp and were asked to convert to Islam.

'Thankfully, a person here in the camp came to save them,' he said.

Puja alias Rabia can now breathe easy. 'I am back in the Hindu camp for the past three days after being rescued by my some women,' she says.

Around five lakh Rohingyas have entered Bangladeshi territory and are scattered in different parts of this district.

Among them, are a significant number is of Hindus. When this reporter apprised Bangladesh's information minister Hasanul Haq Inu about the situation, he promised action.

'The news is very bad and astounding... we have taken all measures to put Rohingya Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Buddhist families in separate camps,' he said.

'We will be investigating this and we will be very tough.'

0
comments. Leave a comment below.:

Post a Comment

Spam and abuse will not be published. You can use some HTML tags in your comments.

SEARCH

SUBSCRIBE

FOLLOWERS

MISSION STATEMENT

It is our position that shariah law imposes second class status on women and is incompatible with the standards of liberal Western societies and the basic principles of human rights that include equality under the law and the protection of individual freedoms. The shariah code mandates the complete authority of men over women, including the control of their movement, education, marital options, clothing, bodies, place of residence and all other aspects of their existence. Further, it calls for the beating, punishment, and murder of women who don’t comply with shariah requirements.
In our efforts to stem the encroachment of shariah in the West, we are focusing on the following objectives:

Education of the American public about the inherent human rights violations and the attempt to undermine or replace U.S. law and American statutes with Islamic shariah

Alerting policy makers and legislators to potential human rights and equal rights violations and working toward the development of possible remedies and legal actions

Building coalitions with like-minded organizations to develop policy initiatives and interventions for victims of shariah.

IMPORTANT TERMS

Shariah: an all-encompassing and in-transmutable system of Islamic jurisprudence, found in the Koran and the Sunnah, that covers all aspect of life, including daily routines, hygiene, familial roles and responsibilities, social order and conduct, directives on relationships with Muslims and non-Muslims, religious obligations, financial dealings and many other facets of living.

Ird: the sexual purity of a woman that confers honor to her husband, family and community. Ird is based on the traditional standards of behavior set forth in the shariah code and includes subservience to male relatives, modest dress which could include veiling and the covering of the body, and restricted movement outside of the home. The loss of a woman’s ird confers shame upon her family and can result in ostracism by the community, economic damage, political consequences and the loss of self esteem.

Zina: the Koranic word for sexual relations outside of marriage. Under shariah law, Zina is punished by lashings, imprisonment or stoning to death.

FGM: female genital mutilation refers to the partial or complete removal of the female genitalia for religious and cultural reasons. It is practiced to preserve a female’s chastity and dampen her sexual desire. FGM is permitted in the Koran but required by the Shafi’i, one of the four schools of shariah law within Sunni Islam.

Honor Killing: a murder, usually of a female, committed to restore the social and political standing of a family or community when it is believed that the victim has violated traditional behavioral expectations. Such violations can include improper covering of the body, appearing in public without a male relative chaperone, talking to an unrelated male, or exhibiting independence in thought and action. An honor killing can also be based on hearsay or gossip that is perceived as damaging to a woman’s relatives.

Forced Marriage: a marriage that is conducted without the consent of one or both parties in which duress is a factor. Such duress can include violence or physical intimidation, psychological abuse, blackmailing, kidnapping, or threats of imprisonment or institutional confinement.

SLAVERY IN ISLAM

Islam permits the taking of slaves as “booty” or as a reward for waging jihad. Slavery became a Muslim tradition at the time that Mohammed moved to Medina and amassed sufficient power for the enslavement of non-Muslims.
Slavery is an accepted part of Islamic society and is never viewed in a negative way in the Koran, Sira or Hadith. In fact, it is a God-given right for Muslims to have slaves.
[6:7] Allah has given more of His gifts of material things to some rather than others. In the same manner, those who have more do not give an equal share to their slaves so that they would share equally. Would they then deny the favors of Allah.

Although Islam has sustained slavery for 1400 years, a Muslim may never be enslaved. Only non-believers or kafirs may be enslaved and may be eligible for freedom upon conversion to Islam at the discretion of the slave owner. Slavery is viewed as a moral good in Islam as it transforms a kafir into a believer.

Slaves have no means for legal action in Islam and their rights are based solely on the good will of their master. If a slave flees his master, this is view as a sin against Allah.

Slaves have few civil or legal rights.

The following are rules pertaining to slavery from the Shariah:

1) Muslim men may have sex with female slaves at any time and it is not possible to “rape” a slave.

2) Slaves have the same status as animals and it is permissible to whip them.

3) No Muslim can be put to death for murdering a slave.

4) A slave’s testimony is inadmissible in court.

5) Slaves can be forced to marry whomever their master chooses and may not choose their marriage mate.

6) Christians and Jews who do not pay the jizya or protection tax can be enslaved.

In his book, Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters, historian Robert Davis estimates that North African Muslims abducted and enslaved more than 1 million white Christian Europeans from the coastal towns from Sicily to Cornwall between 1530 and 1780. Muslim slavers also seized people from Britain, Ireland, Iceland and even American seaman on ships in the Atlantic.

In a recent case of Muslim slavery in the United States, Sarah Khonaizan and her husband Homaidan Al-Turki were arrested for forced labor, sexual abuse and harboring an alien for enslaving an Indonesian housekeeper in their home in Colorado.
The couple reportedly brought the housekeeper to Colorado from Saudi Arabia to care for their five children and to cook and clean for the family. The Indonesian woman slept on the basement floor, was paid less than $2 per day and was the victim of rape.
Al-Turki and his defense attorney complained that they were being persecuted for their beliefs and stated, "The state has criminalized these basic Muslim behaviors. Attacking traditional Muslim behaviors was the focal point of the prosecution."
Al-Turki received letters of support from the local Muslim community and from his academic colleagues at the University of Colorado.
This case continues to arouse strong feelings in Saudi Arabia where there is great sympathy and support for Al-Turki.
On March 26, 2008, a high level Saudi official brought up the case in a meeting with Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff. He urged Americans to review the case and mentioned the strong support for Al-Turki in Saudi Arabia.

RELIGION OF PEACE

IMPORTANT NOTE

Click on the title of each story in order to go to the original news story. Women Against Shariah does not claim copyright on any of the stories. This site should be considered a repository of news stories relating to Islamic matters. We aim to put all relevant news on this site so our viewers can locate these important stories in one place. Thank you.

ABOUT US

The mission of Women Against Shariah is to prevent and outlaw the imposition of shariah law in the United States for both Muslim and American women as either a parallel legal system or a replacement for existing laws. Additionally, we hope to empower women worldwide to resist shariah.